The invention relates to a decompression assembly for use in an aircraft, for example a passenger aircraft. Furthermore, the invention relates to an aircraft which is equipped with a decompression assembly of this kind.
Passenger aircraft currently in use comprise a pressurized cabin, the internal pressure of which, during flight operation of the aircraft, is maintained, for example by means of an air conditioning system, at a pressure level that is increased compared to the ambient pressure, i.e., the reduced atmospheric pressure at high altitudes. Generally, the pressure in the interior of the cabin of a passenger aircraft while the aircraft is flying at cruising altitude usually corresponds approximately to the atmospheric pressure at an altitude of 8000 ft. (ca. 2400 m). The conditioning air supplied by the aircraft air conditioning system is conventionally fed into the cabin through air inlet ducts, which open out into the cabin above the passenger seats in the region of ceiling lining panels and/or side lining panels of the cabin lining. The exhaust air from the cabin usually is discharged through air outlet ducts, which are disposed in the region of a cabin floor or a portion of the side lining panels that is situated near the floor. In order to avoid damage to the cabin lining, in particular to the side lining panels, in the event of a decompression, i.e., in the event of a pressure drop in a region of the aircraft cabin which is kept at an increased pressure during flight, a mutual pressure equalization between an inner region of the aircraft cabin which is delimited by the side lining panels of the cabin lining and a region of the aircraft lying between the side lining panels of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin must be possible.
DE 10 2009 012 015 A1, EP 2 403 756 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,955,803 B2 describe a dado panel with an integrated flap mechanism which, in the event of a sudden pressure drop in an aircraft region lying between the side lining panels of the cabin lining and the aircraft outer skin, opens a pressure equalizing opening, through which air can flow out of the inner region of the aircraft cabin delimited by the side lining panels into the aircraft region between the side lining panels and the aircraft outer skin, which is affected by the decompression. In the event of a decompression in the inner region of the aircraft cabin delimited by the side lining panels, an air outlet duct which, during normal operation of the aircraft, serves to discharge exhaust air from the interior of the cabin into the region of the aircraft lying between the side lining panels and the aircraft outer skin is utilized to lead air out of the region of the aircraft lying between the side lining panels and the aircraft outer skin into the inner region of the aircraft cabin affected by the sudden pressure drop in order to allow a pressure equalization.
DE 10 2011 011 976 B4 and U.S. Pat. No. 9,022,321 B2 disclose a decompression arrangement comprising a first cabin lining element that extends, in at least some sections, substantially parallel with an aircraft outer skin and includes a lower edge region provided at a distance from a floor of the aircraft, wherein the first cabin lining element extends from the lower edge region generally upwardly in a direction of a ceiling of the aircraft. A second cabin lining element is positioned between the first cabin lining element and the aircraft outer skin, wherein the second cabin lining element includes an upper edge region positioned between the lower edge region of the first cabin lining element and the aircraft outer skin. The second cabin lining element extends downwardly from the upper edge region in a direction of the floor of the aircraft. An air discharge opening is arranged between the lower edge region of the first cabin lining element and the upper edge region of the second cabin lining element and is adapted, in the normal operation of the aircraft, to discharge air from the inner region of the cabin into a region of the aircraft lying between the first and second cabin lining elements and the aircraft outer skin.
A decompression element is integrated in the second cabin lining element and has a flap which, in a closed position, closes a pressure equalizing opening formed in the decompression element. The flap is configured to, if a first predetermined differential pressure acts on the decompression element, pivot about an axis in a first direction from the closed position into a first open position, wherein in the first open position the flap opens the pressure equalizing opening formed in the decompression element. Further, the flap is configured to, if a second predetermined differential pressure acts on the decompression element, pivot about the axis in a second direction opposite the first direction into a second open position, wherein in the second open position the flap opens the pressure equalizing opening formed in the decompression element. The decompression element is positioned relative to the first and the second cabin lining elements in such a manner that the flap in its second open position keeps clear a through-flow cross-section of the air discharge opening.